Ore-concentrator.



, PATEN'LTDv S5314, '1906,-

' w. E. FORD. K ORB GoNcBNTRAToR'. APPLICATION FILED MAY 10 1905 4 sums-SHEET 1.

PATBNTED SEPT. 4.1906..

No. aso-,425.

W. E. FORD.

ORB CONGENTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED nulo. 1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WHNESSES.- i ZH/Zw.

PATENTD SEPTA, 1906.

I WQE. POR om: GUNGBNTR R.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 1o. 1905.

, Nro'. 830,425.1,

- PATENTED SEPTA; 1903.; w. E. FORD.

GONG'BNTRATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAX 10.1.9025.

OREl

4 SHEETS-Smm 4;

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atko'bnutd.

UNITED STATES PATEN T oEEroE.

` WILLIAM E., FORD, OF OAF'CIIIAGE, MISSOURI. i

onE-ooNoENTnAi-on. 'i i Patented Sept. 4, 1906.

Applioation'lil May 10, 1905. Serial No. 259,746.

To all, whoml it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAME. F ED, a -citizen of the .United States, 'residingat Oarthage, in the county of Jasper, State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ore-Concentrators; and* I- do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will `,enable others skilled in the art to which it. appertains to make and use the same.

rlhis invention relates to ore-treating machines, and more particularly to those known as concentrators, and has for its object to provide a machine of this nature which will e arranged to separate matter of various specific gravities. f:

Another object is to provide a machine of this kind which will be susceptible of adjustment and which will include a movable bed p l and means for moving the latter.

tfiews, Figure 1 is a side elevation.

Another object is to provide a bed equipped with the ribs known as riftles, these riilies being arranged in a novel manner.

,Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following description, and it will be understood that changes in the speciic construction shown and described may be made within the. scope of the claims and that. any suitable materials may be used Without departing from the spirit of the 'inventlon. f i

Inl the drawings forming a portion of this specification, and in which like characters of reference indicate similar parts in the several Fig. 2 is longitudial section. Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the reciprocatin mechanism. Fig.4 is a transverse section'of the bed. Fig. 5 is a transverse section on line 5 5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the bed. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view showing two of the riflies at the feed endof the bed.v Fig. 8 is a sectional-view showing two of the riiiies adjacent to the discharge end of the bed..` Fig. 9

is a lon itudinal section of the bed, showing one of t e riffles in side elevation., Fig. 10 is a ,perspective view showing a portion of a bed' embodying al modified form of the invention. Fig. 1 1 a side elevation of the invention, showing the table-actuating mechanism in full lines at one limit of its movement and in dotted lines at the other limit of its movement,

Referring now to the drawings, the present `there is a bed 11, includin versely-extending beams 1.2, iaving openings l rected side pieces 8, having horiz'ontally-eX--4 i tending members 9, journaled ytherebetween at their upperl ends. c vA longitudinally-extending shift-rod v'10 is mounted in these members 9, and pivoted upon this shift-rod spaced trans- 12', in which the shift-rod is revolubly engaged and to which at the ends are secured ongitudinally-extending sills, 13, having a floor 14 secured thereupon, this floor being formed of diagonally-disposed planks.

The shift-rod 10 is located at one side of l the central longitudinal axis of the bed, and pivoted to the sill l1', which `lies farthest from the shift-rod, thereare a plurality of depending links `15, which are ivoted at their lower ends to the horizonta ly-extending arms 16 vof bell-crank levers 17, which are pivoted'upon brackets 18. The remaining arms 19 of the bell-crank levers extend` upwardly and are connected by a rod 20. A

.horizontal arm 21 extends oppositely from 23 is provided with a horizontal hand-wheel 27, and it will thus be seen that the just-described portion of the machine may be operated to vary the transverse pitch of the bed.

` The beam 12, which lies adjacent to the rearward or feed end 28 of the bed, is indicated at 12 and located at this end of the bed there is an actuating mechanism 29, mounted upon a foundation 30, consisting of a concrete base E, upon which are secured a ."pair of longitudinally-extending spaced channel-irons Fand G, their webs H being disposed vertically and their flanges l. being directed outwardly, the upper flanges `being somewhat narrower than thc lowerjlanges. Cast integral with the upper flanges `of a channel-iron adjacent tothe forward ends thereof are boxings 35, in which a rock-shaft 211 is journaled, and mounted upon the-upper IIO flanges I adjacent to the rearward ends thereof are boxings K, in which is journaled a power-shaft 41, and these boxings are adjustable longitudinally of the channel-irons to permit of variation of the positions of the there are projections M, which are connected by a yoke N, extending downwardly between the channel-irons, and these projections are held in position `bybolts O engaged therein and inl the upper flanges I of the channelirons. The projections M receive thereagainst the rearward end' o f a helical spring 33, which surrounds the shift-rod 10 and which rests at its forward end a ainst the beam 12, this spring forming a 'u'er to prevent lost motioncbetween theworking parts.

The channel-irons F and G have a yoke N secured therebetween adjacent to their rearward ends, and this yokel has its spaced portions fastened to the webs H of the channelirons by means of suitable bolts, the yokes M and N thus acting to connect the channelirons and strengthen the structure. The forward ends of the channel-irons are slanted downwardly and forwardly, as shown at P.

The rockshaft 34 'extends transversely and has an upwardly-extending crank 35 therein, which is connected by means of a curved link 36 with the adjacent end of the rod 10, this rod having spaced arms 37 connected therewith, between which the link 36 is pivoted. At one end* the shaft 34 has an u"wardly-lextending arm 38, having a latera lyprojecting pin 39 at its upper end,which is a justably engaged in a s ot 34, formed longitudinally in the upper portion of a link 3 5 which extends downwardly and which is pivoted to a crank 40, carried by the horizontally-extending power-shaft 41.

The arm 38, as mentioned above, is pivoted to the link 35 above the planes of the shafts 34 and 41, and it will he seen from the drawingsthat as the shaft 41 revolves the crank 40, revolving therewith, will rock the arm 38 through the medium of the link 35 and the are through which this arm moves is one of approximately eighty degrees. By reason of t e fact that the crank 35 and the arm 38 r)ceu y a common plane longitudinally of the s aft 34, as shown, the crank 35 also moves through an are of approximately eighty degrees, and the arrangement is such that when the crank is at the forward limit of its movement in the direction of the bed it occupies a nearly-vertical l position,- the crank occupying an approximatelyhorizontal position when at the rearward limit of its movement. It will thus be seen that this crank moves through a portion ofa circle described concentrically with the shaft 34, and this portion of the-circle is the upper portion of that half of the circle which lies farthest from the bed.

It will of course be seen that when the crank 35 moves through its arc the shiftrod 10 will be moved through the medium of the link 36, and it will also be apparent that when' the crank is moved rearwardly its horizontal movement is constantly decreased and the rate of horizontal movement of the shift-rod `is proportionately decreased, the rate of movement of the shift-rod being increased when the crank is moved upwardly and forwardly until the crank has reached the forward limit of its movement, when the maximum of speed of the shift-rod and therewith the bed will have been reached. When the crank has reached the forward limit of its movement, its motion and that of the shift-rod and'bed are reversed, and this reversal takes place when the bed is' moving at its greatest rate of speed. By reason of the fact that the speed of the shift-rod 10 is constantly decreasing during the rearward movement thereof, the power of this shiftiod is constantly increased, and it will be seen that the buffer-s ring 33 is compressed during this increase o power. By reason of the proportionate lengths of the link 35 and the arm 38 the crank 4() moves through a greater portion of its circle when the arm 38 is being moved rearwardly than when the arm is being moved forwardly, so that the bed 11 is moved forwardly at a greater rate of speed than when it is moved rearwardly.

By reason of the fact that the rearwardA movement of the bed is at a rate of speed less than that of the forward movement thereof, the' power exerted by the shaft is further increased during its rearward movement, and this increase of power also occurs during the compression of the s ring 33.

The shaft 34 is unbroken, t e crank. 35 being formed by s aced arms 35a and 35",

IOO

IIO

which extend at rig t angles to the shaft, and

the link 36 is concave at that surface which lies in the direction of the shaft 34 to receive into its concavity the portion of the shaft extendinor between the arms 35a and 35D. It will thusbe seen that a structure is provided the strength of which is materially increased by the fact that the shaft is unbroken.

A supporting-link A is pivoted at its upper end u on a in B, extendinglaterallyfrom an arm which depends from the rearward end of the shift-rod 10, this pivot-point being in a horizontal plane with the pivotpoints of the supporting members 7 and the members 9, and at its lower end the linkAis pivoted on a bolt D, engaged in the webs of the channel-irons, this bolt occupying a common plane with the shafts 5. The link A thus supports the rearward end of the shiftrou 1G.

Locatedabo've thegfloor 1.4 of the bed A. there .l lare a plurality lof longitudinally-ex- .tendingplanks Zwhich form the'rworking ,p surfaceofthe bed, and formed integral .with Jthes'eplanks Lthere are a plurality Vof upwardly e projecting longitudinally-extending alle'l to. each other l:and in spaced yrelation? y Each of these riffles consists of a base portion Yv and, an upper central portion X, the former being somewhat wider than the latter and havingits upper surface at opposite sides of the central portion slanted downwardly and 4'outwardly to the working surfaceW of the. bed. The upper portions X of the riifles are reduced in height gradually from their rear-l 4ward to their forward ends and the `upper Asurfaces of these central portions are curvedi transversely throughout their entire lengths,f as shown at V. Throughout their rearward,` portions the central portions lX of the riffles, have vertical side surfaces U; but by reason Iof the fact that the central portions of the;

. readily seen'that between this point andthe forward ends of the riffle's the arcs are of, constantly lessening convexity, due to ther further reduction of the height of thecentral portions of the riffles until the arcs disappear entirely, these arcs being merged into the slanted surfaces of the base portions, and

it will also be seen that the height of these base portions is reduced until they terminate at their forward ends at the working sur-v face W, theforward ends of the riflies being spaced from the forward end of the bed.

At the side edge of the bed 11, which lies farthest from the rod 12, there is a watersupply box 40, arrangedto discharge water upon the bed.

In operation the. shaft 41 is rotated upwardly and away fromthe bed, which causes the bed to move quickly forwardly and then slowlyl rearwardly, the speed being constantly increased during its forward move mentv and constantly decreased duringl its rearward movement, as described above, and it will be seen that when the bed isvat the forward limit of its movement the crank 35 will extend at a lesser angle to the plane of move- -mentof the bed than when theibed is at the rearward lim it of its movement, this being due to the fact that the crank moves through the portion vmentioned above of a circle described concentrically With the shaft 34.' Ore to bey separated is placed upon the bed at the rearward or feed end thereof and the movement ofthe bed causes the ore to bevthrown to-` ward the discharge end thereof." At the same time water from the discharge-box 40 passes over the surfaceV of the bed' transversely andthe particles oli-matter of lesser specific gravity are carried off thereby, the

, the heaviest matterl willbe deposited be-l tween the rifies which lie nearest'to the Wag-ter-boXca-Ildtthat i the particles of lesser-ling .weight willi-extend toward the opposite-.side

Of the bed, the light waste matter being ca-rried off entirely. V

As will l.be readily understood, the transversepitch of the bed may bevaried as described above to suit different conditions, and by means of the slot 34 of the link 3 5 the mechanism is susceptible of adjustment to vary the length of the arc through which the arm 38 moves. By reason of the fact that the power-shaft 41 is adjustable toward and away from the shaft 34 -the relative length of time consumed by the bed in its forward and rearward movements may be varied.

In Fig. 10 there' is shown a `modified form of the invention; in which the riflles 43 from y the water-supply sideof the bed to the dischar e side t ereof lie with the points at vwhic the vertical side faces of their central portions Y` disappear forwardly of these points of the preceding riffles, so that these points lie in a diagonal line extending transversely ofthe bed and the riffles terminate at their rearward ends on a diagonal line .parallel to the'line at which the vertical faces-of the riflles disappear. What is claimed is 1. In a mechanism of the class described, the combination with a reciprocating bed, means for reciprocating the bed, said means comprising an unbroken rockshaft,a crank carried by the rock-shaft, a curved link pivoted to said crank and disposed with its concaved side toward the said vrock-shaft and being arranged to receive the said shaft in its concavity, and connections between the said link and the bed to reciprocate the latter when the crank is rocked, said crank being -arranged to extend when at the limit of its movement toward the bed, at a lesser angle to the lane of'movement of the bed than when t ecrank is-at the limit of its move-v ment away fromlthe bed.

2. In a mechanism of the class described, the combination with a reciprocating bed, of means for reciprocating the bed comprising anunbroken rock-shaft, a crank carried by the rock-shaft and movable toward and away from the bed, a curvedlink pivoted to said crank and disposed with its concaved side toward the said rock-shaft and being arranged to receive said rock-shaft in itsconcavity, connections: between the link and the bed to reciprocate the latter when the crank is rocked, said 4crank being movable to in` crease the angle between it and the plane of movement of the bed when thecrank is IIO YIO

moved away-.from the bedandto decrease said angle when the crank is moved toward thebed. :1

3. In a mechanism of the class; described, the combination with a reciprocating bed, of

means for reciprocating the bed, said means' comprising an unbroken rock-shaft, a crank carried by the rock-shaft, a curved link pivoted to the crank and disposed with its conn caved side toward the rock-shaft and being arranged to receivesaid shaft inits concavity, and connections between the link and the bed for reciprocation` of the latter when the shaft is rocked, said crank and link being movable with respect to each other to'increase the angle between the crank and the link when the crank lis moved toward the bed, and to decrease said angle when the crank is moved away from the bed.

4. In a mechanismof the class described the. combination with a reciprocating bed, of means for reciprocating the bed comprising an unbroken rock-shaft, means for rocking the shaft, a crank carried by the rock-shaft, a curved link pivoted to the crank and o )erative connections between the curved link and the bed, said link beingdis osed with its concave-side directed toward t e rock-shaft and being arranged to receive the shaft in its concavity, said shaft extending at opposite sides of the link.

5. In a mechanism of theclass described, the combination with a reciprocatory bed, of a shift-rod carried by the bed, and means for reciprocating the bed, said means comprising 1 an unbroken rock-shaft, a crank carried by the rock-'shaft and movable toward and away jrOmthe bed, means for rocking vthe shaftfand a curvedlink connected with the crank and with the' shift-rod to reciprocate the latter when'the shaft is rocked, said link having its concaved side directed toward the said rock-shaft and arranged to receive the said i shaft in its concavity, said crank being arranged to lie vat the least angle to the path of movement of the shift-rod when at the limit of itsmovement in the direction of the shift- .rod.

v ity, and connections between the crank-and the reci rocating body forvmovernent of the latter w enthe. crank is rocked,- said crank being arranged to lie at the least angle to the lane of movement ofthe bodywhen the cranli: is at itsforward limit of its movement.

. ;6 5 7 In a mechanism of the class described,

the combination with a reciprocatory bed, ofA means for reciprocating the bed comprising-a power-shaft, an unbroken rock-shaft, a crank carried by the rock shaft, a crank carried by the power-shaft, a curved link connected with the first-named crank, said link being adapted to receive the said rock-shaft in its lconcavit'y, an arm carried by the rock-shaft and pivoted to the link, the distance between the pivot-point of the link and arm and the ivotoint of the link and the crank being ess t an the `distance between the firstnamed pivotoint and the rock-shaft,l a crank carried by the rock-shaft, and operative connections between the crank and bed.

8. An ore-concentrator comprising a bed means for giving the bed a longitudinal differential shake ands aced upwardly-extending riffles carried by the bed, each'jof said riffles having a base portion and an upLper central pTortion, the former being slante upwardly om the surface of the bed to the central portion, said central portion having vertical side Walls throughout a portion of its length and having an up er transversely-curved surface, said rifle. being reduced in height from one end to the other, the points of termination of the side surfacesof the several riles being disposed in a diagonal line transversely of the bed.

9. An ore-concentrator comprising a bed, means for giving the bed a longitudinalfdifferential shake, spaced rifiles carried b the bed and extending upwardly there om, each of said rifiies having a base portion and an up er central portion, the base portion exten ing laterally beyond the central portion and being slanted upwardl from the sur.-

,face of the bed to the centra portion, said central portion, said rifiies being gradually reduced in height from one end to the other, the entire portions of the riiiies having vertical side surfaces terminating short of one end of the rifiies and having transversely-curved upper surfaces.

11. An ore-concentrator comprising a bed arranged for longitudinal movement, means for reciprocating the bed, said means com-v prising an unbroken rock-shaft, means for 'rocking the shaft, a crank carried by the rock-shaft, a curved link pivoted to the crank and operative connections between the curved link and the bed, said link being IOO IlO

rock-shaft and being arranged to receive the said shaft in its concavity, said bed-reciprocating means being arranged to move the bed faster forwardly than rearwardly.

12. In a'mechanism ofthe class described, the combination with a reciprocating bed, and a shift-rod connected thereto, voi means for reciprocating the bed, said means including a suitable frame, a power-shaft mounted on said frame and adjustable longitudinally thereof, a rock-shaft, a crank carried by said power-shaft, a link adjustably connectedl to said crank, an arm carried by said rock-shaft and adjustably connected to said link, a crank carried by said rock-shaft, a curved link -pivoted to said crank at one of its ends and connected at the other of its ends to said shift-rod, and a supporting-link pivoted in said frame at its lower end and pivoted at its upper end to the said shift-rod.

13. In anore-concentrator, the combination with sup orts, of a rod mountedin the supports, said) supports being arranged for longitudinal rocking movement to permit of longitudinal movement ofthe rod, a bed pivotally mounted upon the rod for transverse rocking movement with respect thereto, said' rod lying at one side of the central longitudinal axis of the bed, a bed-moving mechanism connected therewith 'at the opposite side of said axis from the rod, said mechanism being arranged for operation to move the bed and vary the transverse pitch thereof, and means for adjusting said bed longitudinally of the said rod.

14. In an ore-'concentraton the combination with supports, of a rod mounted in the supports, said supports being arranged for pivotal movement to permit of longitudinal movement of the rod, a bed-reciprocating mechanism connected with the rod, a be pivotally mounted upon the rod for transverse movementvwith respect thereto, said rod lying at 'one side of the central longitudinal axis of the bed, bell-crank levers,

l-links connected at one of their ends to said bed at the side opposite the said axis fromthe rod and at the other of theirl lends to one of the arms of said bell-.crank levers,

a rodconnecting the other of the arms ofy said bell-crank lever, a third arm carried by one of said bell-crank levers, and means for adjusting said arm to adjust the pitch of said bed.

15.--In an ore-concentrator, in combination, rock-shafts, standards mounted upon said rock-shafts, a rod mounted upon said standards, said standards being arranged forlongitudinal rocking movement to permitI of longitudinal movement of the rod, a bed pivotally mounted upon the rod for transverse movement with respect thereto, said rod lying at one side of the central longitudinal axis of the bed, and a bed-moving mechanism connected therewith at the opposite side of said axis from the rod, said mechanism being arranged for operation to move the bed and vary the transversepitch thereof.

I n testimony whereof I alix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM E. FORD.

Witnesses: n FRANK O. HALL, E. M. CoLFoRD. 

